This is a cute little old-west style town with wooden sidewalks and decor. And yes, I’m at yet another brewery, trying a few of their samplers. Gotta keep those carbs up. Once I get over the fact that I don’t actually have to drink the entire sample glass, especially if I don’t really like the beer, I end up drinking about a pint. Oh, and a chili burger – yesterday I dined on snacks: leftover pizza slice, toast, Arco’s finest chips and cola and beef jerky, topped off by dinner of local blueberries and tomatos.
Jingle Bell Ale – “A dark amber, heavy bodied ale with a malty aroma. Has a good hop character with a spicy smooth finish”. Quite good.
Bushwhacker Ale – “A malty, dark red Ale with a lot of aromatic hops. Caution: It will sneak up behind you and slap you.” Smells really good; tastes okay, very hoppy (which I’m getting used to what that means).
Spent the night last night at a beautiful campsite along the Skagit river; had a fire (which seems to be mostly good for making my clothes all smoky) and woke up to a pattering of rain which had soaked my chair and wet down the remains of my firewood – “D’oh!”. Cleaned up camp and headed out – and ran over a big rock at the edge of the campsite – double “D’oh!”. Looks like I left a pretty decent sized dent in the spare tire pan and the front under-frame, but apparently no structural damage. Will probably have it looked at if and when I spot a VW mechanic. “If this van’s a’rockin’, I’m driving on rocks.”
(Rolling backward in time) Before I headed out of Seattle I stopped at the ur-REI store – quite large and impressive, especially the massive climbing structure that I wish I was able to try – maybe after dropping 30 more pounds or so I’ll have another look at the rock climbing.
Grampa Clems Brown Ale – “A dark brown, heavily boded ale with a toasted chocolate flavor and a soft smooth finish.” Not bad, fairly bland.
I didn’t try the Gruit Ale (yet) – “A 14th century ale of Europe, A favorite for at least 700 years. No hops added, instead a combination of three mild to moderately narcotic herbs: Sweet Gale (Myrica Gale), Yarrow, and Wild Rosemary. It is important to keep in mind the properties of Gruit Ale: It is a highly intoxicating 6% – narcotic, aphrodisacal, and psychotropic when consumed in sufficient quantity. Gruit ale: Stimulates the mind, creates euphoria, and enhances sexual drive. Should make an interesting winter here in the valley. Dark red, with plenty of body. The herbs are very aromatic, and pleasant. This is like no other ale. Give it three tastes, before you judge. Gruit grows on you.” Sounds like I need a couple of tankards to take to Burning Man! The chili burger’s good, too.
Also stopped at the boat store yesterday – I have this thing about looking for camping equipment at boat stores – and though I didn’t buy anything it was interesting due to a child being lost. They called 911 and ran around the store, and it turned out the kid was hiding under the clothes racks. We need wireless baby beepers that show parents direction and heading for their little ones – perhaps they’d be related to the EPIRB whose initials I don’t recall (Emergency something Beacon?) but should not need GPS, if your kiddo is that far away, they’re no doubt at a rave smoking crack and having sex.
“This is perfect, they have guns” – new customer assessment of this establishment.
Tombstone Barley Wine – “This, dark and malty. Just what your undertaker ordered, gives you the rest your body needs. Very smooth.” Smells wonderful. Tastes just a little like port, an amusing after-dinner beer. On Saturday night after a long day of touristing with Becke, went to dinner at the Rock Bottom just because it was the last place open, and I was far more impressed with the graphics – beer logos – than I was with the beer itself. This place has cool but not amazing logos; I’ve got to remind myself that I don’t need any more t-shirts (unless I start giving them away like mad).
Friday in Seattle, hung out with my friend Chris and his little girl, 13-month-old Beatrix. Beatrix gets two naps a day, morning and evening; their dog Roscoe gets three walks a day. Went with Chris to get a new hard drive and had no desire to look for anything else at the computer store (tho I did browse next door at the boat store, see above). Talked a lot about computers and websites and such; Chris is about to release Daisy Dry Goods, tho the “real” site isn’t up yet, he’s got the PHP working; they sell baby blankies and hats and other stuff, take a look in a couple of weeks.
Haven’t watched much of the Olympics; they’re on now and I can’t seem to be all that interested, I tend to prefer the winter Olympics anyway, more sports I’d like to be doing (speed skating, for example, not to mention the Modern Biathalon: snowboarding and air guitar, and of course the mixed doubles nude luge).
Becke flew in Friday night, and we had dinner and stayed with Chris and Karen. Karen is now working for the Seattle Reperatory Theater, and she works a lot, but they’re taking off next week for the San Juan islands, so she had a bunch of work to get over with. Chris made fantastic salmon with a soy sauce, butter, catsup and garlic glaze that I need to remember to ask for the recipie.
Saturday, Becke and I did the major Seattle tourist attractions: the underground tour which was good history but a little moldy to have to breathe; the waterfront for some clam chowder; Pike’s Place market (didn’t actually see them throwing any fish but the performance was still impressive); walked around in the rain because the monorail is out of service; and rode up the space needle. Chilled ourselves fairly effectively so we enjoyed the fire Chris had set up at home (apparently it’s now the end of summer). We took it easy the next day and went to brunch at the Broadway Grill in Capitol Hill.
Black Canyon Porter – “Dark, heavily bodied Ale with a mild roast flavor. A complex ale with a good hop finish.” Tastes like a porter should, tho not very carbonated it’s nice. They don’t have the Gruit, which is probably better for me.
I’m listening to the speeches from the 2004 Democratic convention, courtesy of the iTunes Music Store, on my iBook. I cannot imagine why anyone would vote for W again, but these people aren’t too bad; not a lot of emphasis on pleasing the unions; I’d still like to hear someone talk about spending less money in general, even though the Libertarians are insane.
After dropping Becke at the airport, went to dinner with Karen’s sister’s family, who live in a gorgeous house in the Queen Ann neighborhood and have two cute tho high-energy little girls. Lamb and port, and I slept well that night. After a little last-minute strolling around Seattle, ran up the interstate to the Cascades National Park, where I stayed last night. I recall a bunch of serious and somehwat heart-wrenching quotes from Chief Seattle, who I think witnessed the culmination of the european conquest of the natives; I forget where and what but need to remember to look them up.
This afternoon I’m off to the Grand Coulee dam, and maybe over towards Idaho.
